Mesh with variable spaces



April 2, 1968 A. WIEME 3,376,001

MESH WITH VARIABLE SPACES Filed April 9, 1965' L "JL [I I' l F 3 m 1r l L I PL f A F f f a? FIG.3

INVENTOR AnAre Wieme Sparrow 0nd Sparrow ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,376,001 MESH WITH VARIABLE SPACES Andr Wieme, Zwevegem, Belgium, assignor to Trefileries Leon Belraert, SPRL, Zwevegem, Belgium Filed Apr. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 446,881 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Apr. 15, 1964, 64--4,052 3 Claims. (Cl. 245-3) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Wire mesh consisting of vertically and of horizontally oriented wires, connected at the intersecting points by elastically flexible strips in such manner that the wires may be laterally shifted.

This invention relates generally to improvements in mesh with particular reference to wire mesh comprising one plurality of spaced apart wires and/or rods, and another plurality of spaced wires and/or rods transversely arranged with relation to the first plurality, whereby these wires and rods are resiliently connected with one another, respectively, at their points of intersection.

Wire mesh, consisting of elements comprising wires or rods intersecting one another transversely, are wellknown, and it is customary to weld thewires or rods together at their respective points of intersection, or otherwise to secure them at such points in a substantially permanent or rigid manner. This permanent or rigid connection of the points of intersections of the two sets of wires or rods has the disadvantage of limiting a broader use of such wire mesh. Since the points of connection are rigid and the spacing between the elements are permanent, such wire mesh are not suitable for use in the manufacture of mattresses or in the upholstery of furniture or of seat cushions, nor are they suitable for being used as packaging means or as containers to be wrapped around articles for protecting the same during shipping.

This invention provides a new and improved mesh and means of manufacturing such mesh in which the disadvantages mentioned above are avoided or at least are substantially reduced. The invention consists in the novel parts, construction arrangements, combinations and improvements as may be shown and described by way of example only and as illustrative of a preferred embodiment. Objects and advantages of the invention will be set.

forth in part hereafter and in part will be obvious heretrom or may be learned by practicing the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide improved mesh and a method of manufacturing such mesh in which the above disadvantages are avoided or at least substantially reduced.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wire mesh consisting of wires and/or rods having resilient connecting means at the respective intersections of the wires and/or rods.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such resilient connecting means as to permit lateral shifting of the wires and/ or rods of the wire mesh for varying the spacing therebetween.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive, yet practical and durable means for the resilient connections of the wires and/or rods comprising the wire mesh.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description given below, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specificament of the device of the invention. In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience,.but such names are in-' tended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a mesh according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line II-II of FIG. 1, showing the intersection of the elements of the mesh, in an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the intersection shown in FIG. 2.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a wire mesh comprising a first set of spaced wires or rods and a second set of spaced wires or rods extending transversely to said first set in which said sets of wires or rods are interconnected by resilient connecting strips which extend across a wire or rod of one set and are engaged with a wire or rod of the other set on either side of the point of intersection so as to urge the two wires or rods into engagement with each other.

Stating the invention generally, resilient connecting strips which may be of metal, e.g., spring steel or of resilient plastics material, are preferably provided at each point of intersection of a wire or rod of the two sets.

although,if desired, such strips can be provided only at selected points of intersection of the mesh where the intended use of such mesh permits. By means of the resilient strips which hold the two sets of wires or rods in engagement it will be seen that a certain amount of movement of a wire or rod of one set with respect to those of the other set is made available. If, for instance, it is desired to vary the spacing of the wires or rods, or to remove selected wires or rods from the mesh as may be the case if mesh is to be deformed to fit around some article, this can be achieved since it is only necessary to overcome the friction force which engages the wires or rods with one another.

Referring now in more detail to the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment by which the invention may be realized, there is shown in FIG. 1 a mesh according to the invention which is composed of a first set of spaced-apart, parallel, elongated elements, such as for example, wires or rods 1 and of a second set of spaced-apart, parallel, elongated elements, such as for example, wires or rods 2, arranged substantially transversely of wires or rods 1. It is, however, understood that the mesh may have shapes other than square or rectangular, that is may be in the shape of a parallelogram or trapezoid, or any other desirable shape. A connecting strip 3, made of resilient material is positioned at the points of intersection of the two sets of wires or rods and serves to urge or hold wires or rods 1 in engagement with wires or rods 2. Strips 3 are bent or deflected to substantially U- or V-shape about wires or rods 2, during the assembly of the mesh (thus stressing the strips 3), and wires or rods 1 are passed through apertures 4 in strips 3, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The resilience of strips 3 causes them to urge the two sets of wires or rods into engagement with each other and to hold them in such engagement.

Strips 3 may consist of spring steel or of non-ferrous metals, which have a satisfactory springy property, or may be made of resilient plastic materials. It is, however, essential that they are capable of holding the intersedting wires or rods in place while permitting a certain amount of movement of one wire or rod of one setwith respect to those of the other set. If, for instance, it is desired to alter or vary the relative spacings of the wires Or rods at each point of intersection, or to remove selected wires or rods from the mesh as may be the: case if the 3 mesh is to be deformed to fit around some article, this can be achieved, since it is only necessary to overcome the frictional force due to the engagement of the wires of rods with one another.

As a result of the resilient interengagement of the wires or rods with each other promoted by the resilient strips relative movement between the wires or rods of the two sets at each point of intersection can take place while, if desired, the relative spacings of the wires or rods can be altered if suflicienit force is used to overcome the friction between the wires or rods and strips. This characteristic or quality is particularly useful if wire mesh is to be used, for example, in the construction of seat cushions, cushion supports, mattresses or furniture, or for packaging of objects for keeping same together or for transporting of such objects by means of such mesh.

A further aspect of the present invention is to provide mesh consisting of two interconnected sets of spaced, elongated elements, such as for example, wires or rods arranged transversely to one another which comprises elastically deforming connecting strips made of resilient material across the elongated elements of one set, engaging the elongated elements of the other set through apertures in the ends of the strips and releasing the elastically deformed strips, so that the remaining elasticity urges the elongated elements of the two sets into frictionally holding engagement with the one another.

It will be appreciated that mesh, according to the present invention, is much more adaptable in use than known wire mesh where the points of intersection are rigidly interconnected. While in general the mesh of the elongated elements, according to the present invention, will be square or rectangular, it will be understood that it is within the scope of the invention to provide mesh wherein the mesh have other shapes, e.g. lozenge shape, parallelogram, trapezoidal or the like.

It is understood that where the expression or term substantially U-shape or U-shaped or similar words are employed in the specification and/or claims, the same is meant to comprise U, V or any similar or equivalent form 40 or shape.

It is further understood that any one, some, or all of the elongated elements 1 and/ or 2 may be made of plastic or any suitable fibrous or filament material.

While the invention has been described and illustrated With respect to a certain preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principle of the inven- 5 tion that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

I claim:

1. A mesh comprising a first set of spaced elongated elements, a second set of spaced elongated elements, the elongated elements of one of said sets extending transversely to the elongated elements of the other of said sets and being in engagement therewith at respective intersecting points, and a resiliently flexible connecting strip at each of said interconnecting points, each of said strips having two spaced apart aligned holes, each of said strips extending across an elongated element of one of said sets of elongated elements at one of said intersecting points, one of said holes being on one side and the other of said holes being on the other side of said one of said intersecting points, an elongated element of the other of said sets passing through said holes, said connecting strip urging said elongated elements at said one of said intersecting points into holding yet movable engagement with each other whereby any of the elements of either of said sets of elements may be moved selectively.

2. A mesh according to claim 1, and said elements in each of said sets being substantially parallel to each other.

3. A mesh according to claim 1, and said resiliently flexible strips being of substantially U-shape.

References Cited V UNITED STATES PATENTS 372,625 11/1887 Jones 2452 566,474 8/ 1896 Russell 2453 2,805,277 9/1957 Moeller 25610 FOREIGN PATENTS 101,149 5/1937 Australia.

RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner.

L. A. LARSON, Assistant Examiner. 

